Surreal scene at the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells.
This Thursday, the quarter-final between Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev had to be interrupted due to an invasion… of bees on the court.
In the images captured by the cameras and broadcast on social networks, we can see the Spaniard moving around to avoid the insects, trying to reach them with his racket, still trying to keep them away by waving his hands over his head , before running off and heading towards the exit of the court.
“The game can no longer continue,” said the chair umpire, himself visibly very surprised by the scene.
The most BEE-ZARRE thing you'll ever see!!
🐝#TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/OAHe0lIMpB
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 14, 2024
The bees, visibly present in their hundreds, have notably settled around the “spidercam” used on the center court of the North American tournament, this system which allows a television camera to move in space.
Both players had just started the game, only two games had been played (1-1) in less than ten minutes.
Carlos Alcaraz had to serve but was never able to throw his ball.
Bees attacked the spider cam.
Something happened there...
"Play suspended due to a bee invasion", announces Layhani.
pic.twitter.com/jk40YCMjS7
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) March 14, 2024
At the time of writing, the match had not yet been able to resume between the two players.
Until now, Carlos Alcaraz, second player in the world, had not been worried in the tournament, winning against Matteo Arnaldi, Félix Auger-Aliassime then Fábián Marozsán.